Chapter 12: A Brother's Predicament

Tiffany sprinted toward Yuan the moment she spotted him at the tambayan.

"I thought you were dead!" she hissed, clutching him tightly. "I got into trouble because of you, dumbass."

"Ouch!" Yuan yelped, flinching as her hand brushed against his injured arm. "What did you do this time?"

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I ditched the class to look for you."

Her concern caught Yuan off guard. He'd never imagined the Ice Princess capable of such genuine emotion. Back at the Academy, he had spent his years following her—as what their good riddance of a father instructed him to do.

His relations with Tiffany may be kept a secret from her and everyone else but Yuan, with his stalking skills, was able to know his sister on a deeper level. Tiffany was infamous for her cold demeanor, keeping people at arm's length. The closest he'd seen her to breaking her icy facade was when he stumbled upon her during an intimate moment with a girlfriend. Yet here she was, visibly distressed—for him, of all people.

It stirred something unexpected, a warmth he hadn't felt in years. "You missed me, didn't you?" Yuan teased, smirking.

Tiffany responded with a swift kick to his shin.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he exclaimed, hopping slightly.

"You're an asshole," she replied flatly, taking her usual seat on the bench beside him.

"An asshole who saved your ass," he shot back, laughing at the wordplay.

Tiffany rolled her eyes, her worry vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. She lit an expensive cigarette with an audible sigh, the smoke curling around her. "Do you smoke?" she asked, holding the cigarette between lips stained red with lipstick.

"Sure," he said.

Without a word, she tossed him a pack of Ashton VSG Corona Gordas and a golden lighter.

"I tried to quit," Yuan chuckled as he lit one. "Turns out I'm not much of a quitter."

"Old habits die hard," Tiffany replied with a wink, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"For someone undercover, you sure don't seem too concerned about sabotaging yourself," Yuan remarked, inspecting the luxury pack of cigars. "Golden lighter? Fancy smokes? What will you do if the admin finds this in your bag?"

"Shut up. I know what I'm doing," she snapped, narrowing her eyes.

Yuan raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "If anyone else knows you brought this kind of thing to school, you're fucked."

"You can keep them," Tiffany said nonchalantly, waving her hand. "I've got plenty."

"You're not listening!" Yuan replied, leaning back on the bench.

They sat in silence for a while, the smoke between them rising lazily into the humid afternoon air.

"You know I will not listen to you ever!" Tiffany replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, right. I'm getting used to it."

"Good for you," she replied, laughing.

"Your father's a wealthy man," Yuan said. "That's why you are such a brat."

"He is," Tiffany replied with a tired sigh. "And he'll do whatever it takes to stay that way. He's nothing without his money."

"How much do you hate him?" Yuan asked, tilting his head as he studied her expression.

Tiffany glanced at him, amused. "Do you think I hate my father?"

"All daughters hate their fathers," he said with a playful grin.

Tiffany shook her head, taking another drag from her cigarette. "Assumptions, Yuan. You don't know me as well as you think."

But Yuan wasn't convinced. Living with a man like Don Arnulfo couldn't have been easy, not for someone like Tiffany. Her distance from everyone, her sharp tongue, her constant defiance—it all made sense.

Growing up with his foster family, at least Yuan had experienced some semblance of normalcy. Sure, his foster father was involved in shady politics, but it was nothing compared to the manipulative world of the Alpha leadership. Tiffany had been born into that world. No escape.

"I really thought you were dead," Tiffany said suddenly, changing the subject. "Would've been fun, though."

"Sorry to disappoint," Yuan replied with a smirk.

"I couldn't care less," she said with a shrug, her icy demeanor slipping back into place.

"Right," Yuan drawled sarcastically. "The heiress with a heart of ice. That's what they say about you, isn't it?"

"Good. Let them."

He laughed, nudging her shoulder until their elbows touched. "Well, I guess you're stuck with me now."

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know. Papa called. He said you'll be working with me on this mission. After what happened in Ormon, he doesn't want to take any chances."

"A-about that—"

"It pissed me off," Tiffany cut him off, her voice sharp. "He knows I always work alone. This is just another one of his power plays. He and the Alpha council are nothing but a bunch of scheming old misogynistic men." She flicked ash from her cigarette, her anger palpable. "Tell me, Yuan—what's your reward this time?"

"Why don't you ask your father?" Yuan deflected.

"Just tell me," she pressed.

He sighed, meeting her gaze. "The Alphas want us bonded by marriage."

The air between them grew heavy, his words hanging in the silence.

"I knew it…" Tiffany muttered, standing abruptly and swinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Where are you going? Are you mad at me?" Yuan called after her.

She turned, fixing him with a dangerous smirk. "Yes," she said, her voice laced with venom. "And in that case, I might as well kill you after I finish with Lucio."

Without saying anything else, she walked away, leaving Yuan sitting there, the taste of her cigarette still lingering in his mouth.